Will Smith has emerged as the frontrunner to star in Quentin Tarantino’s next film, Django Unchained, a spaghetti Western about a slave in the Old South who teams with a German bounty hunter to search for his wife.

The film, Tarantino’s follow-up to his worldwide blockbuster Inglourious Basterds, will be distributed domestically by the Weinstein Co., but Tarantino is in the process of selecting a studio partner to release the film internationally. Sources say he was meeting with Universal executives Friday, and similar meetings with Sony, Paramount, Warner Bros. and possibly others have been scheduled.

Sources prepped for those meetings say Tarantino would like Smith to star in the film, the script for which has been making the rounds in recent days to wide acclaim. No official offer has been made to Smith, and any deal would of course be subject to working out financials, which might be difficult given Smith's status as one of Hollywood's few sure-thing stars.

Indeed, though Smith has been out of multiplexes since 2008’s Seven Pounds, he is still considered among the top two or three box-office draws worldwide.

Smith is being teed up for the title role of Django, a freed slave who seeks to reunite with his slave wife, a journey that will see him team with a German bounty hunter to take down an evil plantation owner.

Tarantino wrote the bounty hunter part with Waltz in mind, according to insiders. The German ends up training Django and helping him seek his wife.

Jackson would play the house slave to the bad guy, Monsieur Calvin Candie. The slave is an expert manipulator and will face off with Django.

Smith and his reps have received the screenplay, which could be a hot potato due to the themes of racism and the liberal use of the N-word. It's unclear whether Smith has read the script yet. The actor manages his image very carefully, but the part is heroic and could be iconic. And let’s not forget that Denzel Washington won his two Oscars playing characters who used the N-word.

Tarantino is aiming for a fall shoot in the South, possibly in Louisiana, but the exact locale has not been determined.

I liked this movie alot, thought Inglorious Bastards was better. Leo was great and methodical, Samuel L Jackson can play the racist black guy in any movie, Christoph Waltz always brings his A game, and Jaime Foxx was pretty good as well.

Loved the Clan arguement over the hoods, especially Jonah Hill being the guy who rips his hood and asks for another.

I liked this movie alot, thought Inglorious Bastards was better. Leo was great and methodical, Samuel L Jackson can play the racist black guy in any movie, Christoph Waltz always brings his A game, and Jaime Foxx was pretty good as well.

Loved the Clan arguement over the hoods, especially Jonah Hill being the guy who rips his hood and asks for another.

I just saw it. Very entertaining. I'm a fan of the old spaghetti westerns and it certainly pays homage to them. It also has a bit of the blaxploitation feel to it, but that's part of the director's style. It's not going to be on your list of greatest movies of all time but it's a lot of fun to watch. I recommend it. Oh, on the use of the "N" word, it's appropriate within the context of the movie. To be clear I'm the kind of guy that has never used the word conversationally and find it offensive in everyday speach. It was used for effect and served a purpose in the film.

Just saw "Django Unchained" and artistically it's almost unimpeachable.
It's an absolutely brilliant film in that regard. Maybe Tarantino's best...

Politically though? Spike, for once, has a point.

Don't think so? Imagine he does the same Spaghetti Western with the Jewish holocaust as the backdrop.

Okay then.

Yea, good point Mic. Im still going back and forth on it. On one hand QT wants to just make a fun spaghetti western good time. Which is fine.......But on the other hand he makes it dark and gritty setting it in a controversial, ugly time period. I honestly did think he overused the N word.....but i guess hes trying to push buttons and remain true to the time period. Maybe he was deliberately trying to make the audience feel uncomfortable? It definitely made me squirm a few times.

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Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning:

Matt once made a very nice play in Seattle where he spun away from a pass rusher and hit Bowe off his back foot for a first down.

Yea, good point Mic. Im still going back and forth on it. On one hand QT wants to just make a fun spaghetti western good time. Which is fine.......But on the other hand he makes it dark and gritty setting it in a controversial, ugly time period. I honestly did think he overused the N word.....but i guess hes trying to push buttons and remain true to the time period. Maybe he was deliberately trying to make the audience feel uncomfortable? It definitely made me squirm a few times.

I don't think he overused it one bit. I can't think of a time that it was used and it wasn't appropriate to the era and the context of the story.

I liked how he set up the time/era by showing how surprised and appalled white folk were at seeing a black man on horseback.